Help ! -Need AA light with long runtime on low/moonlight mode

Do they make a budget AA light that has a low/ moonlight mode, that can run for several days at a time ? Need it for power outages in my area.
Thanks. Would like to stay around $15 or less . I would need to buy several of them

Slightly more pricey, but this one should do the trick:

http://www.sbflashlights.com/L3-Illumination/L3-Illumination-L10-Colors-Nichia-219-p284.html

Jetbeam JET I MK would be your best choice.

According to specs it should last 100hr on low mode, it is a very sturdy light considered the best value in AA category.

$13 at gearbest… hard to find something better at this price. gearbest.com/led-flashlights/pp_368125.html

Ty…I had read about both of the lights mentioned , but wasnt sure if there was a ” no name ” brand that could perform for several days in moonlight/ low mode , for $10 or less. I wanted to buy 10 of them for emergency backup.

I guess the jetbeam is the lowest priced light in this category ? Does Gearbest charge shipping and does it take several weeks to receive a item from them if you live in U.S. ?

Shipping is free but it does take at least 10 days to arrive. Maybe banggood is a bit quicker but not by much.

It depends on your batteries too, of course…

XTAR WK50. Has moonlight mode as well as l/m/h. I got mine for 13bux on Amazon, but someone here pointed me to them at 8bux a pop on Fleabay.

So 8bux is well under your 10buk target price. :smiley:

I got one, like it, except that (to me) the tailswitch is the weak link in an otherwise excellent light. Ymmv.

Eep! Down to 7.58 on sale!

https://www.amazon.com/XTAR-WK50-Flashlight-Waterproof-Battery/dp/B018VRBA8O/

Okay, for that price, I’m getting more.

Haha, I just ordered 5 more for stocking-stuffers… and for me. :smiley:

XTAR is perfect…ty….ordered 10 of them…

No worries. <8bux is definitely the nice price!

This must be the perfect topic. :slight_smile:

Thanks for sharing my deal. Only a small stock is available and there will be no more. Hope you like them. :beer:

So glad I stumbled on this thread!

Ordered a WK50 a few weekes ago and liked it so much I ordered 3 more for my kids. Pink wouldn’t typically be my first choice, but for ~$7.50 a pop shipped these seem like a steal. I actually like the color and even my 10yr old boy wasn’t put off and wanted one too. :slight_smile:

Great tip and deal, thanks BLF!

(Showing 8 left on Amazon at the moment btw.)

Ha, see? Toldja… :smiley:

I ordered a bunch of these, mainly because it had a low price and was rated to run 80 hours on moonlight mode.

I just had a chance to test runtime on moonlight mode, and am very dissapointed. I used a fully charged eneloop - 2000 mah…and got 28 hours on moonlight mode. I see why this light is priced so low…those specs arent even close to factory specs. I would expect since the moonlight hour runtime is WAY over rated, that the factroy spec runtimes on the other settings are also wrong.

This means I am back on the hunt, for a single AA light, or single AAA light , under $10 , that will run at least 3 days or more in moonlight mode.

lisa, the runtime rating of the light is good for a specific cell, usually listed in the specs. It might not be capable of 80 hours from a 2000mAH Eneloop, but it might get that with a different cell, like maybe a lithium primary AA. Even a plain alkaline may do better than the Eneloop. Testing has shown that decent alkalines are actually very hard to beat at super light loads.

Try this comparator from HKJ to see how different cells behave at various loads.

Have you considered upgrading to Energizer lithium AA ?

http://lygte-info.dk/review/batteries2012/Energizer%20Ultimate%20Lithium%20AA%20UK.html

They would be a better choice for that application… 30+ hours at .1A draw. I am not sure what that light draws in its lowest candle mode, but if its lower than .1A, you should see longer run times than 28 hours.

Yes…I agree…I did not expect a full 80 hours from a fully charged 2000 mah , eneloop…but I surely was expecting at least 50 hours runtime in moonlight mode. Eneloop is considered 1 of the best rechargeables around and they generally perform solidly in these LED lights. This is why I think the factory run time specs on this LED light, are way over rated, and maybe why these sell for $7.50 shipped. With eneloops, this light is only achieving around 35% rated runtime at 3 lumens . Wouldnt you say that is unusal and a sign that factory ratings are inflated ?

I looked at some of the other recommended name brand LED lights on this thread, and the factory only rates them to run around 30 hours on a 3 lumen moonlight mode with AA battery. This leads me to think that the XTAR rating of 80 hours, is mostly fluff.

Yeah, 0.1A is 100mA, which is actually quite a lot actually. Any moonlight mode will use only a few mA of current, max. In fact, doing the math, that 2000mAH cell still should have been plenty for over 80 hours of moonlight mode.

IM not sure it is a battery issue…I think it is a over rated factory spec issue.

For example.

Here is a LED that was suggested on this thread.

http://www.sbflashlights.com/L3-Illumination/L3-Illumination-L10-Colors-Nichia-219-p284.html

It also runs on 1 AA battery , but it cost almost 4x as much as the XTAR……its factory specs on 3 lumens runtime is 30 hours……XTAR claims 80 hours. …but I only got 28 hours out of it. In other words, it is improbable that a $7.50 light will get 80 hours runtime at 3 lumens , when a $28 light will only get 30 hours runtime on 3 lumens. …when both use 1 AA battery.

I think the XTAR specs are highly inflated, and its not a problem with my eneloop.

XTAR factory is rating moonlight mode to be 3 lumens on its flashlight and run 80 hours on AA battery….3 lumens may actually be more of a low setting, then a moonlight setting , so once again it may be that the factory specs arent accurate. 3 lumens is the lowest setting on the XTAR and other name brand expesnive LED lights, rate their 3 lumens mode as being low mode, and runtime to be max 30 hours …not 80 hours.

The XTARS USED TO SELL FOR AROUND $15…but they were marked down to $7.50 …I think due to its over rated runtime factor. Other then this issue, I like the light alot…but I only bought it because of the 80 hr rating in moonlight mode .